From a traditional dish to an innovative recipe, Campania’s “pasta e scarole” gets a new twist with Peppe Guida’s Michelin-starred take.

Photographs by Alessandra Farinelli

For traditional escarole: Wash the escarole thoroughly and remove the outer leaves. Set aside a few leaves.
Flatten them well on a cutting board, opening them up inside so you can stuff them with the filling.
Add salt, 1 anchovy in oil, 3 capers, a handful of olives, a generous sprinkling of pecorino cheese, a drizzle of oil, and two thin slices of garlic to each escarole.
Close the escarole leaves, restoring them to their original shape, and tie them with a piece of kitchen twine (or cotton string if necessary), starting from the tip and wrapping it around a couple of times along the entire length.
Grease a suitable skillet with plenty of olive oil and place the escarole in it, adding a few olives, capers, and garlic to the pan as well.
Add a couple of glasses of water, cover, and let them cook for half an hour, simmering them slowly.
Once cooked, untie the escarole from the string and set them aside.
Separate the leaves and coarsely chop one of the escarole heads in its cooking liquid, then cook the tubetti in it.
With the other head of escarole, make a thicker, richer cream. Add a few spoonfuls of this cream to the pasta cooking water, reserving the rest to garnish the plates.
Plate the tubetti with their cooking liquid, garnish with a little escarole cream and a few sprigs of raw escarole. Finish with a sprinkle of sweet paprika.